Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler Wow Fans as Warriors Beat Morant, Grizzlies in NBA Play-In

The Golden State Warriors are officially headed to the playoffs, even if the path there was anything but easy.

Golden State outlasted the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 in Tuesday's Western Conference play-in tournament game at Chase Center thanks in large part to the combined efforts of Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. It clinched the No. 7 seed as a result and will face the second-seeded Houston Rockets.

As for the Grizzlies, they will play the winner of Wednesday's game between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks for the No. 8 seed. They also could have tied the game in the final seconds but committed a five-second violation down three.

Curry unleashed his usual magic with multiple three-pointers down the stretch on his way to 36 points, eight rebounds and four assists, but it was Butler (38 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals) who carried the offense for much of the game as well.

It was enough to overcome impressive performances from Desmond Bane (30 points, six rebounds and four assists) and Ja Morant (22 points) and earn plenty of reaction on social media:

All signs pointed toward a Golden State win heading into Tuesday's contest.

After all, it went 3-1 against the Grizzlies during the regular season, was playing at home and has looked like a different team since acquiring Butler in a midseason trade. Throw in the championship experience Curry, Draymond Green and Steve Kerr bring to the table, and Memphis was facing an uphill battle.

It looked like an impossible battle in the first half as the Warriors extended their lead to as many as 20 with Curry hitting threes, converting a four-point play and battling for boards while Butler poured in 21 points before intermission.

The six-time All-Star took full advantage of the spacing that comes from Curry's gravitational pull and mixed in his own outside looks and drives into the lane. He and Green played a two-man game inside the arc at times as well, and there was little a Memphis defense that still had to account for Curry on the outside could do.

To the Grizzlies' credit, they didn't fade away.

Bane did much of the heavy lifting on the offensive end while Scotty Pippen Jr. bothered Curry on the defensive side. Jaren Jackson Jr. also added some timely shooting as a matchup nightmare, and all the momentum was suddenly on the visitors' side as they controlled play for extended stretches in the third quarter.

Yet there was still reason for concern even after taking the lead in the fourth quarter because Morant twisted his ankle and was in obvious pain on the sidelines.

He returned with a clear limp but still had enough explosion to get into the lane and create scoring chances for himself and others. Memphis needed that to take some of the offensive pressure away from Bane and keep up with Butler-Curry onslaught.

Still, that onslaught proved to be too much for the Grizzlies and is now Houston's problem.